Troy span closes over safety concerns

Traffic will be detoured along Canal Street to Fourth Street during replacement project

Kenneth C. Crowe I, Times Union

By Kenneth C. Crowe II

Updated 9:14 pm, Friday, November 15, 2013

The Spring Avenue Bridge is closed on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, in Troy, N.Y. The city has determined that the bridge over the Poesten Kill must be closed due to stability issues. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

The Spring Avenue Bridge is closed on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, in...

City engineer Russ Reeves, left, and Mayor Lou Rosamilia speak to the media about closing the Spring Avenue Bridge on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, in Troy, N.Y. The city has determined that the bridge over the Poesten Kill must be closed due to stability issues. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

City engineer Russ Reeves, left, and Mayor Lou Rosamilia speak to...

City engineer Russ Reeves, left, and Mayor Lou Rosamilia speak to the media about closing the Spring Avenue Bridge on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, in Troy, N.Y. The city has determined that the bridge over the Poesten Kill must be closed due to stability issues. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

City engineer Russ Reeves, left, and Mayor Lou Rosamilia speak to...

Spring Avenue Bridge over the Poestenkill in Troy. (Photo from troyny.gov)

The Spring Avenue Bridge will be closed for a year until a new bridge is built, city officials said Friday.

The city ordered the bridge closed after city and state Department of Transportation engineers determined the 129-year-old span was no longer safe for vehicles to drive across.

The 3,000 vehicles that cross the bridge daily will be detoured along Canal Street to Fourth Street during the closure.

"Safety is number one," Mayor Lou Rosamilia said, standing on the west side of the bridge.

The mayor apologized to any travelers inconvenienced by the bridge closing.

City Engineer Russ Reeves said construction would begin in April, with completion expected in November 2014.

The new bridge will cost $3 million to build. The city's share of the construction costs is $150,000.

Public safety is not expected to be affected by the bridge closing, Rosamilia said. Spring Avenue is a main thoroughfare connecting the city's East Side to downtown and South Troy.

The bridge was built in 1884. Renovations were made to the bridge a century later in 1984.

The city and state DOT have been monitoring the deteriorating condition of the bridge, Reeves said.

Repeated inspections over the last two weeks determined that the bridge could no longer bear the weight of traffic crossing it, Reeves said.

As part of the reconstruction, the city will have to move water lines that cross the bridge. Reeves said service should not be affected.

The city will pave a new entrance into the Douaihy Auto Sales lot at the intersection of Canal Street and Spring Avenue. The car dealership's entrance is on Spring Avenue and has been blocked by the bridge closing.